Forget It (ONC 2024)

Chapter 5 - Forgetting Remember-All

He sounded like the soothing AI voice that greeted visitors at the tech exploration center, not someone holding my future as an inventor in his palm. Heat rose in my cheeks. I was supposed to play along as the supportive partner, but given the chance to challenge the founder of Inno-Tech about Arch's lying, I couldn't turn it down. Even if it got me nowhere, perhaps it could call out some of Arch's false explanations and get shared credit.

"Mem-Armour is my idea and my product. And it's called Remember-All."

The founder didn't even flinch or divert his gaze from me.

"Ms. Mintz, ideas are formed every second. We have more than we'll ever be able to act on, even with the most extended lifetimes. Several people may share the same ideas without realizing it. Opportunity, however, is much rarer. And this is a unique opportunity to revolutionize the cognitive-technology space," his voice was placating like I was a child about to throw a tantrum.

"With all due respect," I tried not to seethe, "I have plans, years of research, and prototypes. This was not just an idea, and if Arch had had this idea before I did, I'm sure he would have told me, especially when he helped me."

The founder's neutral expression was set in platinum. But he'd created this entire company. He had to understand and respect the value of intellectual property rights.

"I understand your prototypes were not functioning well without Mr. Kenton's expertise. Without him, there would be no product."

So the founder already knew. They all knew, and everyone was okay with squashing a small inventor to help their wunderkind rise to stardom again. That meant there'd be a robust legal and tech team protecting this that I'd never take down alone. Even with Ash's help, this was impossible.

The office's cool air prickled against my skin, creating irritation that my nails longed to strip off layer by layer. This was everything I had worked towards, the idea that would change the lives of so many people that science and technology had ignored in their pursuit of profit. Yet I'd showed it to the wrong person and now greed would be its downfall. My chest was ready to cave in on itself as I pictured my mother's smiling face. I blinked away my forming tears and squeezed my legs through the fabric of my dress.

"Mr. Martin, may we speak freely?" Arch asked the founder with a gulp and a glance at me.

If I didn't know better, I'd mistake the look in his eyes for sympathy. I took a calming breath and ignored that traitor.

"Ms. Mintz, would you agree to a code of silence?" Mr. Martin asked.

"Meaning that if we discuss the theft of my product, I will lose the ability to speak about it with anyone outside of the contract. I understand the ramifications of the code, and I do not consent." I shot Arch a glare. What a bastard trying to coerce me into silence when I was most vulnerable.

The founder stared off into his mental cyberspace, and soon a slight vibration tickled my temple despite having set my notifications to silent. He shared two documents with me: the mem-Armour project proposal by Arch Kenton and the Projected Memory project proposal by Selene Mintz.

"Have a look at page 4."

I scanned the first three pages in more detail to see if they were trying to hide anything from me, though I suspected they would have just omitted it from the document altogether. I doubted these were the originals.

Product Name: Mem-Armour

Product Description: Mem-Armour is a cerebral implant designed to read memories in real time, record, store and provide lifelong access to said memories on demand with no delay and without degradation. The user has the ability to erase selected memories and store a select number in high definition. Upon request, memories can be altered to include or remove specific requested interactions, objects, or people. With permission, memories can be shared with other subscribers to enhance the memory experiences. Memories will be stored on the device and in a company-run memory cloud. Memories are always encrypted.